Charge 5 order is taking too long to ship

[Mrsdrs54]

Fitbit bricked my Charge 5 on 8/6/23. It was only 5 months past the 1 year warranty. They wouldn’t replace it but offered 35% off on a new one. I reluctantly ordered a new Charge 5 on 8/8/23 with a listed ship date of 8/11/23.  A few days later, the ship date changed to 8/25/23. Upon checking my order status today, it now says shipping date of 9/8/23!  In the meantime, my Premium 6 month free trial started on 8/8/23. WTH Fitbit! Why would you start my free trial when I have no device to use with it??? I am so upset with Fitbit/Google and am very close to canceling my order and either ordering a Charge 5 from Best Buy who has it available TODAY and it’s not that much more money than Fitbit’s measly discount. My other thought is giving up on Fitbit all together and going with Garmin.  Way to treat your loyal customers Fitbit!!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Joannebx1]

I have spoken with FitBit several times and they are telling me that their warehouse does not have any Charge 5's in stock, and that this is the reason for the back order.

I am thinking they are having issues with the firmware, because my 1st charge 5 died at almost a year and my replacement pebble would not charge, overheated and died in less than 2 months.

They gave me 35% discount ( it use to be 50% ) off a new device, so I opted for a Charge 5.

Does anyone have any ideas on what is truly going on and if getting a new Charge 5 is just a waist of money and if I need to cancel my order now and go with something else, or is this something that is happening with all FitBit devices.

[Mrsdrs54]

• If you’re looking to get a Charge 5, BJ’s Wholesale has them on sale (and in stock) right now for $99.99. That’s just a few more dollars than what you’ll pay with Fitbit’s 35% discount. I had ordered a new Charge 5 from Fitbit on 8/8/23 with a listed ship date of 8/11/23…then it changed to 8/25…then it changed to 9/8.  I cancelled my order through Fitbit and ordered mine through Best Buy…had it delivered 2 days later.

[KKTX]

Used the option to chat online with Fitbit yesterday. They were not able to provide any useful info on why the delivery date has disappeared from my online account. They were not able to state what the ETA on the delivery for my Fitbit Charge5 will be. They said it will be escalated - but couldn't state to whom. Also couldn't state when the 'higher powers' would be getting in touch, or how they would be contacting me. I asked them to verify my email address to make sure they could get in touch with me - and they couldn't verify that stating the agent online didn't have access to my contact details. I got nothing, felt like wasted minutes trying to get in touch with Fitbit.

[Flashcard1]

About same with me. My third charge 5 just could not be revived with online help. Only difference is on third time offer 30% discount. I ordered and it’s on back order which shows there is still problems. I canceled the order. I have had about6 fitbits and now ready to try something else. No service just keep getting you to purchase with discount. Come on Fitbit I know you can do better. 

[ElizaBeth4989]

I’ve had the same problem and have called, written emails and used the chat feature and every person gives me a different answer. I ordered mine in July and when it didn’t come in August, I contacted the company because I received no notification, they said it was on back order until September and if I wanted to cancel my order and get a different color, it would be available, so I did. Not only is the new color also on back order, it’s estimated to get here the same time as the initial one, I had to pay an extra $10 to get the new warrantee and my Fitbit premium started on July with no device for me to use it on. I’m also unsure what to do but this is kind of a crazy way to run a business!

[ElizaBeth4989]

Some articles are confirming that it’s an issue with the device and they are fixing the issue but then there should be some communication regarding that. 
Also, I should say that I ordered the charge 5 after my Fitbit luxe gave up just after the one year warrantee mark…

[mmtimm]

Pretty disappointed in service so far. I reached out through chat and by phone and both told me the item was backordered and despite the backorder ship date being 8/11/23, that had been missed and removed from my order. No one could tell me when I could expect to actual receive a new device. They told me I could cancel my order and resubmit, but I don't see how that would fix the issue since all colors are now on backorder. Incredibly bad customer service and communication on top of the fact that my Fitbit died suddenly without warning or indication that anything was wrong.

[carkford]

I've had 2 Fitbits. Both died a little over a year after purchase. Both times, Fitbit offered 35% off a new Charge 5. After the 2nd one died, I switched to a different brand but found it to be less than satisfactory, so I ordered a 3rd Fitbit on July 4, 2023. The backorder date changed erratically until now there is no date - it just says that it's on backorder. Same experience as others have posted - I've called customer service, was told it would be escalated, have heard nothing back. Fitbit used to have the best customer service. Extremely disappointed in the reliability of their product, their inability to fulfill orders, and the poor customer service.

[Mrsdrs54]

I canceled my order from Fitbit after many changes to my shipping date. BJ’s Wholesale has the best price right now at $99.99 and they have them IN STOCK at most locations.

[D.mo]

@carkford I've had 5, but I won't ever have 6

[LizF.]

My experience is consistent with many others reported on this thread. My device started rapidly losing charge just after an update was pushed, in late july I think. Ultimately, the app could not locate the device. After a couple of conversations with their support team, I decided to replace the Charge 5 (also got the 35% discount offer) and ordered on 8/4/23. The backorder date kept sliding. I still do not have my new Charge 5 and there is currently no backorder date associated with my order. Another conversation with online support promised an email with an updated date, but that never arrived.

Fitbit under Google is certainly disappointing!

UPDATE 9/27/23

Still waiting. Coincidentally, I received an email from Fitbit the day after I posted this original reply. They indicated the backorder should be met "by the end of the month". Well here we are! It's the end of the month! Backorder date has still not been updated on my order. I am still hopeful Fitbit will deliver. I just wish they would keep their customers better informed. The worst part of this is the wondering.

[LizF.]

I am concerned these devices may have been in stock with re-sellers for a while and will end up having the same firmware problems if they get updated.

[Jackiebean]

I should have just copied and pasted you post, its the same as my story, almost to the exact date! I canceled and am looking for an alternative device.

[Jonty_L]

 I’m tempted to ask Fitbit to refund my money, and then buy one from Amazon.  It’s in stock with them here in the UK, and they can deliver in two days. 

[D.mo]

They'll probably do a refund but you'll need to send in the device first and they'll check it etc. If you trust the process, go for it. I dont. I've been offered a refund, but given the lacklustre progress so far, I'm afraid my device will go missing or somehow get damaged and I'll truly be out of pocket.

I'll hold out and wait for this replacement to get shipped out; the backorder's scheduled for today.. so I'm crossing my fingers

[D.mo]

@1liz This is very likely. I remember back when I had the Charge HR device, it got bricked from a firmware update. I opened a brand new replacement which worked for the first 5-10mins, and during setup it downloaded an update and had the same issue that the one it'd just replaced had.

So its very possible that there'll be an uncontrollable volume of devices getting hit with bad updates. Similarly, I imagine with so many devices going bad, if there is a way to fix them, there's probably a genuine backlog in getting enough Fitbit devices out to customers before they all run out

[ElizaBeth4989]

I just saw that my shipment date changed again for the end of September. I canceled my order and my Fitbit premium membership, even though I lost the initial money for the bundle with that. My mom said the Charge 5 is reasonably priced at Target too but I’m worried it will be old stock and just have the same problems as all the other old charge 5’s and who knows when the new ones will come out! 
I think I’m going to just spend the extra cash and get a Garmin. They’re supposed to be better anyway!

[Jonty_L]

Usual push back this morning from Fitbit support:

We are experiencing high contact volume right now and estimated wait times will be higher than normal. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to provide support as quickly as possible.


We apologize for the delay in shipping your order. We've already made a follow up on this. We're doing everything we can to get it to you as quickly as possible and will send you an email when it's on its way. Thanks for your patience.

I’ve run out of patience, so no point thanking me for it.


Sent from my iPad

[Tracker60]

When I ordered a new Fitbit with condescending discount because my "Charge" 5 stopped being able to hold a "charge", the shipment date was 8/25/23. Then it was 9/1/23. Now it is 9/29/23. All of this with no explanation. I've had multiple Fitbits. I don't think any of them has lasted much beyond a year. The lack of transparency is insulting.